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John Mancuso was among those running on the Island this year who were endorsed by the Working Families Party (WFP).

“I believe it is important that the hardworking people of the 64th District have a voice in Albany that will champion the cause of those who work for a living,” Mancuso said. “Because of this, I am happy to accept and express gratitude for the nomination of the Working Families Party.”

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – John Mancuso, Democrat and Working Families Party candidate for the 64th Assembly District, has been endorsed by Local 1500 of the United Food and Commercial Workers union. Chartered in 1937, Local 1500 represents 23,000 food and retail workers and is largest local of UFCW in New York State.

“It’s no secret that this is still a tough economy and many working New Yorkers are struggling,” said Pat Purcell, assistant to the president of UCFW Local 1500. “Now more than ever, we need Albany focused on growing good-paying jobs, not making it easier for big chains and corporations to shortchange hardworking men and women in a tough job market. John Mancuso stands with working New Yorkers and will be a voice for all of us in Albany.

“The workers of Local 1500 have been exemplarily serving our community for years. Whether it’s the deli counter or the produce department, New Yorkers know full well that their hard working neighbors are getting fair treatment by the stellar advocacy of this union. I am honored to have their support,” said Mancuso.

When he was about six or seven-years-old, John Mancuso – the Port Richmond native now vying to unseat Republican Nicole Malliotakis in New York’s 60th Assembly District – remembers standing on a picket line with his father outside the Clove Lakes Health Care and Rehabilitation Center.

“I didn’t understand what a strike meant,” Mancuso says. “To me it was just people marching around in a circle holding signs. Later on, I realized how the union helped my dad keep his job when the nursing home wanted to fire the entire staff and bring in new people.”

In the intervening years, Mancuso has built up a Democratic pedigree that includes stints as aides to both NYC Councilman Vincent Gentile and former State Senator Seymour Lachman. If he wins the Assembly seat on the Democratic and Working Family Party lines in November, Mancuso says he will work hard to amend the controversial Tier 6 pension plan, protect collective bargaining and help bring new industry to the state by supporting legalized casino gambling.

“It’s really just about preserving union issues up in Albany and making sure while I’m up there that we’re trying to bring industry back to the state so we can create good union jobs again,” Mancuso says.

In order to do that, however, Mancuso believes he’s first going to have to combat a significant “anti-union climate” that has somehow managed to largely obscure the vital role labor has played in the lives of hard-working men and women of the state.

“Too many people are just overlooking that now,” he says. “They don’t understand it. And it’s mostly the Republican legislators that don’t understand it because they represent a lot of special interests in a lot of corporations that don’t have union labor, and who don’t ever want to have union laborers. That’s why it’s important that we have as many Democrats as possible up in Albany.”

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — With a poll this week showing widespread support for the measure, Democrat John Mancuso slammed GOP Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis for voting against a bill to raise the minimum wage.

“This bill is a proactive approach that will help all residents of the East Shore of Staten Island and Bay Ridge,” he said. “As a small business owner I know that raising the minimum wage provides a cash infusion into the economy and bolsters employee retention.”

A Siena College poll this week showed that 80 percent of New Yorkers support increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $8.50 an hour.

The Assembly in May passed a bill, 98-49, approving the increase, with sponsors saying the current level is too low to meet the rising cost of food, shelter and other necessities.

Mancuso called Ms. Malliotakis’ stance on the issue “cynically hypocritical.”

“Her rhetoric does not match her voting record,” he said. “She should stop playing politics with her constituents’ financial well-being and vote with the overwhelming majority of our state … Albany needs another voice that will fight for the working men and women of the 64th District.”